Lake St. Lucia
{{Use South African English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lake St. Lucia
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| other_name = Lake Saint Lucia
| image = False Bay, Lake St Lucia.jpg
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| caption = False Bay, Lake St Lucia
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| location = South Africa
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| coordinates = {{coord|27|59|S|32|27|E|region:ZA_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
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| pushpin_map = South Africa
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| pushpin_map_alt = Location of the lake in South Africa.
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Lake St Lucia (Lake Saint Lucia) is an estuarine lake system in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the largest estuarine lake in Southern Africa, covering an area of approximately {{convert|350|km2}}, and falls within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (a World Heritage Site).
The lake was named Santa Lucia by Manuel Perestrello on 13 December 1575, the day of the feast of Saint Lucy.Santa Lucia: http://www.santalucia.co.za/history.php {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910051615/http://www.santalucia.co.za/history.php |date=2015-09-10 }}, retrieved 8 August 2015 It was later renamed to St. Lucia.
Flora and fauna
More than 2,180 species of flowering plants have been documented in the St Lucia lake system.{{cite book|last1=Thieme|first1=Michele|last2=Abell|first2=Robin|last3=Burgess|first3=Neil|last4=Lehner|first4=Bernhard|last5=Dinerstein|first5=Eric|last6=Olsen|first6=David|title=Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment|date=2005|publisher=Island Press|page=331}}
St Lucia Lake harbours rich fauna, including crocodiles, hippopotami, monitor lizards, over 400 bird species, invertebrates, and the occasional bull shark.Nel, H.A., Perissinotto, R. & Taylor, R.H. 2012. Diversity of bivalve molluscs in the St Lucia Estuary, with an annotated and illustrated checklist. African Invertebrates 53 (2): 503-525.{{cite web |url=http://www.africaninvertebrates.org.za/Nel_etal_2012_53_2_569.aspx |title=Bivalvia from St Lucia Estuary |accessdate=2012-11-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20121224185751/http://www.africaninvertebrates.org.za/Nel_etal_2012_53_2_569.aspx |archivedate=2012-12-24 }}Perissinotto, R., Taylor, R.H., Carrasco, N.K. & Fox, C. 2013. Observations on the bloom-forming jellyfish Crambionella stuhlmanni (Chun, 1896) in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa. African Invertebrates 54 (1): 161–170.{{cite web |url=http://africaninvertebrates.org/ojs/index.php/AI/article/view/262 |title=Observations on the bloom-forming jellyfish Crambionella stuhlmanni (Chun, 1896) in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa | Perissinotto | African Invertebrates |accessdate=2013-07-25 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725193615/http://africaninvertebrates.org/ojs/index.php/AI/article/view/262 |archivedate=2013-07-25 }}